Small Nations and Colonial Peripheries in World War I: Europe and the Wider World (CfP)

Senegalese soldiers in Belgium (Battle of Aisne)

We’ve already dealt with the
problem of the connection between center and peripheries in the Great War and
we’ve already raised the question whether such a distinction may be today
regarded as senseless one. Even the smallest nations and the colonies which
supported the opposite imperial forces during the WWI played in fact a not
negligible role, even regarding the mere quantitative terms of the war economy.
If we then turn to the social and cultural aspects, these (seemingly)
“peripheral protagonists” disclose important insight into the epochal changes
which characterizes the period and provide – at some stage better than the
“central actors” of the conflict – new perspective for a transnational and
comparative analysis and discussions. In order to promote the debate on this
topic a workshop will be organized in June 2014 at the History Department of
the National University of Ireland, Galway. Paper Proposal are welcomed till
the end of February. You can find below the complete CfP with a list of the
themes which should be discussed.

Call for Papers for an
International Workshop on

Small Nations and Colonial
Peripheries in World War I:

Europe and the Wider World

National University of
Ireland, Galway

Friday 13th-Saturday 14th
June 2014

The purpose of this workshop
is to provide a forum of debate for transnational and comparative

approaches to the history of
small European nations and Europe’s colonial peripheries in World War I in the
context of the epochal changes brought by the collapse of large imperial
states. Our aim is to reach a more nuanced understanding of the complex
relationship between the peripheral regions of Europe and her empires and
Europe’s metropolitan core through the comparative and transnational analysis
of the contribution of European, Asian and African peripheries to the war
effort in World War I.

Prof. Michael S. Neiberg, an
eminent scholar of World War I, will deliver the keynote address. Prof.Neiberg
has written extensively on the multiple theatres and global reach of the War,
most notably in Fighting the Great War: A Global History (Harvard, 2006) and
Dance of the Furies: Europe and theOutbreak of World War I (2011).

Scholars are invited to
submit papers on themes focusing on social, political, or economic aspects
ofEurope’s small nations and colonial regions during World War I.

Themes covered may include
the following:

• Colonial troops serving in Europe
• Troops of ethnic European minority populations serving in Europe
• Troops of ethnic European minority populations serving in overseas colonies
• Experiences of populations of independent small nations in Europe
• Experiences of populations of ethnic minorities within European multiethnic
states
• Experiences of indigenous and settler populations of European overseas
empires
• Official attempts to mobilise popular support across all ethnic groups in
Europe and in the overseas colonies
• Support for or resistance to such mobilisation efforts and their different
outcomes

Papers may address the following geographical regions:
• Peripheries of European multi-ethnic empires in Europe
• Peripheries of European belligerent powers to the east and south of Europe
• Europe’s overseas colonies

The workshop is an initiative
of Róisín Healy, Enrico Dal Lago, and Gearóid Barry at the History Department,
NUI Galway, and will be held in June 2014 in order to mark the beginning of the
commemorations for the hundredth anniversary of the start of World War I.

Prospective participants should send a paper title and a 300-word
abstract, accompanied by a 1-pageCV to enrico.dallago@nuigalway.ie
by the deadline of 28 February 2014. They will be notified ofacceptance by
mid-March 2014.

ACROSS THE RIVER

Dear Visitor,

welcome to World War I Bridges, the Italy-based radar of First World War legacy and initiatives in the pipeline for the Centenary. Our interests are in the "units" here below and military equipment is not on the top of our minds. You can surf this site also starting from these "units".

Why Bridges? The armies used to explode the bridges in war operations. We now try to build new bridges during the WWI Centenary from Maserada sul Piave, a small Italian village along the Piave River.

Terms and conditions

All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. These terms and conditions of use are subject to change at anytime and without notice.As for our suggested itineraries, though every possible effort to provide accurate information on this site, you are solely responsible for interpreting and using this information to organize your trip and excursion and to evaluate all potential hazards according to your own capacities and risks inherent to the different natural environments.

World War I in Maserada sul Piave

Maserada sul Piave is a small town in the North-East of Italy (Venice area), located in the middle course of the river Piave. After the notorious rout of Caporetto (October 1917), the river Piave became the Italian extreme defensive front. This location and the river Piave are particularly interesting in the scenario of the three main battles of the last year of the Great War: the First Piave Battle (November 1917), the Battle of the Solstice (known as Battle of Middle June 1918) and the final Battle of Vittorio Veneto, that led to the Armistice between Italy and Central Powers. In this locations, the British and the Italian armies faced together the Austro-Hungarians. The British Army was stationed here and that's why our village is an example of a location shared by two national armies cooperating in war operations. The museum located in the village is aiming to become a reference point in Italy for the history of a foreign contingent, namely what we know as the British Campaign in Italy 1917-1918. Since 2008 it has been building local and international partnerships in order also to create events and organize battlefield tours in this area.

Can you build a WWI Bridge with us?

If you're a Great War enthusiast; if you think of having something interesting to point out; if you think that the memory of the Great War should grow around a network of people constantly sharing views on this; if you think that war was not and is not only a matter of weapons; if you stop a second when you read the words "First" and "World"; if you sometimes think that the Great War centenary is getting closer; if you quiver every time you watch Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory; if you strongly believe that the real challange is to find new strategies to tell the story of this war to the digital natives. Briefly, if you discover yourself twanging like a chord every time you get close to this topic and if you wish to throw new bridges around First World War knowledge, we would be more than happy to listen to your suggestions, comments and opinions.

Please take a look also to the web site of the friends of the Maserada World War I Museum and write your emails to this address. You may also follow us on Twitter.Thank you for connecting though WWI Bridges!